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Nathan Trepal

Publications and source records attributed to Nathan Trepal.

Guidelines for Mapping Reliably Detectable Dye Penetrant Crack Size at External Corners with Fillet Radii

The technical memorandum addresses some concerns with dye penetrant crack sizes stated in Table 1 (and Table 2) of NASA-STD-5009B. Table 1 corner crack size of a = 0.100” and c = 0.150” is reasoned to be larger than it should be based on the original Standard dye penetrant qualification. In the original Standard dye penetrant qualification, surface crack size with depth a = 0.075” x length 2c = 0.150” was qualified with minimum 90% Probability of Detection (POD) with 95% confidence (conf.). No corner crack size was qualified by direct POD testing in original dye penetrant qualification. Standard dye penetrant detectable crack size for radiused corner is not addressed in NASA-STD-5009B.

Dye Penetrant Testing↗

Guidelines for Determining X-ray Shots for Inspection of Cylindrical Parts

For reliable detection of Standard size crack for x-ray radiography, NASA-STD-5009 requires that x-ray angle shall be within +/-5 deg. of assumed crack plane at the point of x-ray intersection with crack. Equations for calculation of shot length and number of shots on a girth weld of a cylindrical part are provided to meet this requirement for selected cases of x-ray set-ups. Crack plane is assumed to be radial-axial with respect to the part geometry. Limit angles other than +/-5 deg. may be chosen. These equations can be used to interpret limit x-ray angle requirements to calculate corresponding shot length and number of shots on a cylindrical part. If certain percent (5-10%) overlap is needed, then the limit angle used in the calculations should be decreased by that percentage so that the overlap area meets the limit angle requirements.

Ajay M Koshti↗

Arecibo Observatory Auxiliary M4N Socket Termination Failure Investigation

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) was requested to support the Arecibo Observatory failure investigation in determining the root cause of the Auxiliary M4N cable failure. The NESC and Kennedy Space Center led an integrated NASA investigation with support from Marshall Space Flight Center and The Aerospace Corporation that included forensic investigation of failed hardware, finite element modeling, materials characterization, and root cause analysis. This document contains the outcome of the NESC Assessment.

Zinc Spelter Sockets↗

Active Thermography

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Nathan Trepal↗